Elegant Inverness on the rise

INVERNESS closed to within three points of the play-off spots with another emphatic home victory as they took their scoring tally to seven in the space of five days.

These sides could not muster a goal between them in their two previous meetings this season. But Inverness, playing with a recently rediscovered confidence and flair, were far too good for the Doonhamers on this occasion.

However, Queens clung on to fifth place in the Championship on goal difference, by dint of an 86th-minute headed consolation goal from substitute Owen Bell.

The match was just three minutes old when Iain Vigurs scored with his head from Liam Polworth’s corner, after Jack Leighfield had pushed a Gary Warren header onto the bar.

Inverness threatened to increase their lead but Connor Bell fired wide of the far post before Aaron Doran’s failed to find a taker for his cross.

Queens offered little in the way of a positive response until Stephen Dobbie squandered a chance to equalise from close range in 21 minutes.

Leighfield had to make a super save to deny Polworth after Doran had created the opening.

But the keeper was unable to prevent midfielder Joe Chalmers from scoring his first-ever senior goal in 74 appearances.

Leighfield looked initially to have been slow to react to Chalmers’ low left-foot shot from 25 yards in the 29th minute after Polworth’s corner had broken to him, but, in his defence, he was probably unsighted until the last moment.

He did get a hand to Doran’s right-foot drive from just inside the box after 59 minutes, but was beaten by the power of the shot as the points were made safe.

Inverness manager John Robertson said: ‘We asked the players not to leave anything in the tank as they finished off a sequence of five matches in 15 days and they didn’t.’